This book outlines the Republic of Korea’s goals for green growth, including its green growth strategy, legislation and plans. Commercialization of green technologies is highlighted as a key platform for economic growth and job creation. The book was initially published in January 2011 in Korean under the title, “The Right Way to Know about Green Growth” with the support of the Republic of Korea Presidential Committee on Green Growth.
The term 'green jobs' can refer to employment in a narrowly defined set of industries providing environmental services. But it is more useful for the policy-maker to focus on the broader issue of the employment consequences of policies to correct environmental externalities such as anthropogenic climate change. Most of the literature focuses on direct employment created, with more cursory treatment of indirect and induced job creation, especially that arising from macroeconomic effects of policies. The potential adverse impacts of green growth policies on labor productivity and the costs of employment tend to be overlooked. More attention also needs to be paid in this literature to how labor markets work in different types of economies. There may be wedges between the shadow wage and the actual wage, particularly in developing countries with segmented labor markets and after adverse aggregate demand shocks, warranting a bigger and longer-lasting boost to green projects with high labor content. In these circumstances, the transition to green growth and job creation can go hand in hand.
Written by the research team of at the Institute for Labor Studies, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, China, this study presents both the current situation and potential for green employment in China, as well as results of surveys conducted in eight companies in the power industry. In China, green employment can be defined as work in industries, sectors, enterprises, and positions which have low input, high output, low consumption, low emissions, recyclability and sustainability. The purpose of the study is to make policy recommendations for China’s transition toward green employment.
This report is the first comprehensive study on the emergence of a “green economy” and its impact on the world of work. It includes data that shows a changing pattern of employment in which green jobs are being generated in many sectors and economies around the world as a result of measures to tackle climate change and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. This has also led to changing patterns of investment flows into areas such as renewable energy and energy efficiency at the household and industrial level. Within current policy frameworks, only a fraction of the potential benefits for jobs and development is forthcoming.